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What Others Say: Final farm bill 'good enough' (The Albany Herald)

In the end, the compromise package on farm legislation was a lot like the weather that farmers usually deal with — not just right, but good enough to bring a decent crop in.

The bill that was worked up by the House-Senate conference committee passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 251-166, getting support from 162 Republicans and 89 Democrats. Conversely, it also had bipartisan opposition. Sixty-three Republicans and 103 Democrats voted no, while six GOP members and eight Democratic ones didn’t vote.

As far as those who were pushing for deep reforms in the bill, there was a good deal of disappointment all around.

A move by House conservatives to decouple the nutrition programs from the farm package failed, though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw a 1 percent cut ... and the creation of a 10-state pilot program in which able-bodied adult recipients would be required to participate in work programs. ...

It’s also important to note that ... 80 percent of the spending in the legislation’s anticipated $956 billion cost over 10 years is dedicated to food stamps and nutrition programs.

The remaining 20 percent will go to farm-related programs, which were the targets of liberals who decried “farm welfare.” Direct payments to farmers have been eliminated, while crop insurance programs have been expanded.

In the end, nobody got everything and everyone had reason to both support it, and to oppose it.